


tree falling (no one would hear)

by astridgracee



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anger Management, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Brotherly Angst, Family Issues, Football | Soccer, Gen, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-22
Packaged: 2021-03-27 08:46:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30120177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astridgracee/pseuds/astridgracee
Summary: tommy just wants his family to go to his soccer games (but it's okay that they don't care because dream is there for him)aka, tommy struggles with feeling inferior and he needs comfort from his team captain (and eventually his family too)
Relationships: Clay | Dream & Sapnap & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & TommyInnit & Technoblade & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Technoblade & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Wilbur Soot & Technoblade & TommyInnit & Phil Watson
Comments: 36
Kudos: 424





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Embelom](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Embelom/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Trouble](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28125432) by [Broken_fangirl_2002](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Broken_fangirl_2002/pseuds/Broken_fangirl_2002). 



> another tommy au where he fights with his family??? projection who?
> 
> trigger warning for panic attacks, disassociation and shit family dynamics ig

Tommy wasn't the best. That was Techno with his brilliant grades and tendency to master countless fighting styles for the sake of it; that was Wilbur with his music that wormed its way into your heart along with his addictive personality; that was Phil with his unending selflessness and kind behaviour no matter what you did. Tommy wasn't the best in any way, but when he had just finished a soccer match where he'd dodged and weaved and _scored_ , and Dream was pulling him into a hug, wheezing laugh greeting him along with countless congratulations, Tommy felt like he wasn't best but he was enough. 

When he was at home, his family in their separate rooms and him seated at the kitchen table, waiting for someone to notice that he'd won, that he was carrying a trophy and wearing a bright smile, that feeling was the only thing keeping him from falling apart. 

(When Techno had gotten all A's on his exams, Phil had smiled and they'd gone out for dinner and Techno had laughed with them, an uncommon occurrence that made the night all the more special.) (When Wilbur recorded his first album, they'd bought him presents, journals to write his songs in and basic set up so he could record less-professional songs in their home.) (When Tommy won his soccer tournament and was crowned player of the season and announced as team Captain for the upcoming year, he got a note saying there was pizza in the fridge that he could microwave for dinner.)

The emptiness he felt while in his own home was rarely there, since he more often than not found comfort in hours-long calls and visits to his friends houses that lasted for days on end. He didn't spend enough time in the tense environment to ever truly let the agony of inferiority affect him (though when the nights grew silent and his body ached from playing his hardest, when he wanted nothing more than for Phil to understand his shaky walking and run him a bath, that was when the sadness hit him like a freight train and he was left immobilized by pain.)

Tommy might not have had the emotional stability of a healthy person, but he had Tubbo and that was more than enough to keep him going. He was currently laying across his bed, legs kicking off his wall as his head hung over the edge of the mattress. Tubbo's voice was ringing with laughter from the other end of the call, the benefits of facetime being that Tommy could see how his best friend grew red in the face from bottling up the giggles due to their topic of conversation. 

"Tubbo, I hate to be the one to break it to you, but you are a little bitch if you think that bees are superior to magpies. I mean, I don't want to bash you, but you're kind of dim already and this only further proves my point." Tommy's words were delivered with bright amusement, silent laughs shaking his body when he heard-and saw- Tubbo's exasperated splutters on the other end of the phone. 

"Now wait a minute-" Tubbo's voice was laced with happiness, his playful banter keeping Tommy from concentrating on a million other things. 

"I will hear no arguments and also-" Tommy's voice only grew louder but his sentence was abruptly cut off when he heard the slamming of a door. He glanced down at his phone, seeing the slightly delayed reaction from Tubbo due to the poor internet, the other boy's brows furrowing in worry.

When Tommy's door swung open he jumped slightly, dropping his phone on the bed beside him. Wilbur was standing in the open entryway, hair a mess and eyes filled with anger that set a deep rooted fear in Tommy. 

"What's up Will?" Tommy's words were clearly not the right ones to say because Wilbur looked closer to freaking out than before, hands shaking slightly at his sides. 

"What's going on? What's going on is that you are being fucking selfish and self centered as per fucking usual. Do you even think about the fact that there are other people in this house, people who couldn't give a flying fuck about whatever bullshit you're spouting." Wilbur's words were poisonous and Tommy was in shock, focusing on the sheer authenticity in his brother's voice. 

( _Wilbur meant everything he was saying, he was mad and Tommy couldn't breathe-)_

Wilbur's tone lowered dramatically, eyes narrowing with malice,"I get that you think you're the main character or some stupid anime bullshit but you need to get it through your head that no one gives a shit about your or your opinions or your stupid hobbies that you keep talking about. Your trophies are meaningless when you're so fucking annoying it cancels out your actual talents. Could you just fucking shut up for once and try giving a shit about the people stuck with you?!" 

After Wilbur spoke, his eyes cleared from the anger residing in their depths and he immediately left, leaving Tommy completely frozen in place. 

( _Did his brother hate him that much, did Techno and Phil feel the same way? Was he useless or did people just not care about soccer because he was so annoying they couldn't bear his presence_?)

"Toms-" Horror was evident in the shakiness of Tubbo's voice, his expression on Tommy's phone screen filled with sadness. _Pity. Tubbo was pitying him._ Tommy hated being pitied more than anything so he restrained the tears welling in his eyes, glancing down at his phone screen and deciding to hang up before he broke into desperate sobs. 

(He was fucking weak for being sad in the first place, but the sound of the call ending only worsened the loneliness and gut wrenching sadness inside him.)

Tommy packed his bags before he even registered what had happened, mind focusing on the fact that he would suffocate if he had to be in this cursed house for one second longer. 

He climbed out his window, his bag hastily pulled over his shoulder, ignoring the thoughts that told him that this was a bad idea. He would be fine, he knew he had a place to go anyway. 

* * *

Maybe his idea was shit, but after a half hour of walking and his tears still falling, he was beyond exhausted at the thought of actually coming up with a plan. So, regardless of his doubts, he raised his hand and knocked on the wooden door. 

Dream opened the door with a grin, clearly not expecting to be greeted by his dishevelled team-mate, eyes rimmed red from crying and a bag slung over his shoulder. 

"Can I stay?" 

Tommy knew that Dream's frozen frame and uncertain expression were probably bad signs, but Tommy's mind didn't care about what his emotional dilemma had to say. The man was probably having a midlife crisis or some shit about Tommy actually being on his doorstep and thinking that it wasn't his job to deal with annoying teenagers. 

(It was Dream's place to intervene because Dream had been there, Dream had taught him, Dream had talked him through his anxiety, he'd shown him how to confront others without getting himself hurt. Dream was there when Wilbur was out with friends, when Techno was practicing his latest hyperfixation, when Phil was working twenty four seven. Dream was his brother and Tommy needed him.)

"Please." Tommy's voice cracked when he spoke, eyes silently pleading, "It's just one night until I figure out what to do."

Dream stepped away from the door silently and walked towards his living room. Tommy locked the door behind him, following the older boy into the familiar space. 

(He had spent most of his summers here, playing video games with most of the soccer team. He'd stayed here overnight a few times, when everything got too much and he needed to talk and Dream was more than willing to listen.) (He was more comfortable in the cosy area than he was in his own eerily silent living room.)

Dream lounged on the sofa, switching on the television with a grin, the worry in his eyes easily concealed behind a mischievous smile, "If you're staying, we're binge watching the How To Train Your Dragon movies." 

Tommy laughed, both at Dream's maniacal expression and also with relief that Dream didn't question him, only distracted him from thoughts of Wilbur hissing angrily at him and Techno telling him to shut up all the time and- 

The movie's starting distracted him and he settled down on the sofa beside Dream, the comfortable warmth of his team-mate grounding him in the present along with the action beginning onscreen.

(He didn't let himself concentrate on the fact that his family probably didn't even notice his absence, not wanting to cry before the sad parts of the movie even began. He would be okay, he would survive without them and as soon as school was over, he would go to college and be done with them. He would be okay as long as he had his team surrounding him, soccer an outlet he could never give up, his family not on the same level of necessary. They weren't there but Dream was and that was enough for now.)


	2. Chapter 2

Wilbur was _panicking_. He hadn't meant to swear at Tommy and say those godawful things, but he was just so mad and he couldn't focus on his work when all he could hear was the damn child rambling to Tubbo on the phone. When he heard the noise of a book falling and the desperate fumbling of someone struggling to open a set of drawers, it was the last straw for him. Techno was having sensory overload because Tommy wouldn't stop fucking yelling and Wilbur was _angry_. 

He just wanted Tommy to stop being selfish, he'd wanted to get him to just be quiet, but the whiteness of Tommy's face and the horrified silence from Tubbo's end of the phone told him he'd gone too far.

He'd locked himself back in his room immediately afterward, work forgotten as he sat in his closet, the familiar cosy space keeping him from panicking. He switched on his phone, flinching when he saw messages from Eret rushing in. He should have known that Tubbo would tell them, not that he could blame the kid. 

**Eret** : are you doing okay, you were a bit quieter today

 **Eret** : holy shit Tubbo just told me what happened

 **Eret** : what the fuck Will

 **Eret** : Tubbo's worried about Tommy

 **Eret** : is he okay? did you apologise? 

**Eret** : will, have you taken your meds today

The messages only awakened a chasm of guilt in Wilbur and he stood, leaving the comfort of his closet, intending to ply Tommy with chocolate from his stash and tell him countless sorrys. He couldn't bear to text Eret back, deciding to call her later instead and discuss it properly with him then. 

( _He ignored the last message, not wanting to confront the thoughts of the empty pill bottle on his shelf, the medication having run out a week ago and his silence on the matter a deliberate choice.)_

When he opened Tommy's bedroom door, he wasn't greeted with a sulking teenager, headphones around his neck as he angrily clicked at whatever violent video game he chose. Instead, he saw an open window, the footsteps from Tommy's muddy shoes going across the roof and disappeared where he obviously jumped down.

Wilbur barely made it to the bathroom before he vomited.

* * *

Dream wasn't mad on Tommy's behalf, he just struggled a little bit to hide his anger from the moment he saw the younger boy on his doorstep looking flustered and panicked. He had known immediately what had occurred, knew in the way that Tommy clearly wasn't injured but that his shoulders still shook with sobs anyway. He knew that everything had caught up to the younger boy and that he was not okay, no matter how hard he was going to try to pretend this never happened. 

(Every time they had a match, Dream would search the seats for any sign of Tommy's brother and father. He looked because he saw how pointedly Tommy avoided the sight of a crowd gathering, as though he expected for them not to show. [Expecting things didn't alway make them hurt less, a fact Dream was painfully conscious of.] ) 

Dream had expected that one day Tommy wouldn't be able to keep it in any longer and would show up on his doorstep, but that didn't make it any easier when the tears dripping down his face weren't even dry yet and he was looking more distraught than Dream had ever seen him.

Some part of him was screaming that it wasn't his place to be comforting Tommy, that the role belonged to the two distinct presences in their school. Tommy's brothers were Technoblade and Wilbur: Technoblade, who he competed against in their academics, who he sparred against in their karate classes, who Dream knew to be monotone and unable to connect with his emotions but had still expected more of him; Wilbur, the social butterfly who was more of a spider, his sweet words pulling you in before you realized that maybe you didn't want to be stuck in his web, he had a horrible temper but his kindness was immeasurable and Dream had faith he could be better. They were Tommy's brothers and yet he was at Dream's front door crying his eyes out anyway. 

Dream looked at his pseudo brother and made a decision while gazing into the blue eyes blurred by tears. He stepped back from the door and let the boy in, both into his life entirely and into his home, even if it was just for a night. 

* * *

Techno wasn't jealous of Dream and Tommy to start with. If anything, he was sorry for his classmate, stuck with Tommy's loud laughter and bright personality. He hadn't expected for Dream's smile to widen with Tommy and for his signature wheeze to escape him whenever Tommy spoke. 

(Techno never knew what Tommy was talking about because everytime Techno neared, his loud voice silenced itself and he shut down.)

Techno hadn't been jealous at all, until suddenly, on the rare occasion he reached out to his younger brother, he wasn't there. Techno's kid brother was suddenly wearing a varsity jacket with Dream's name stitched on and his own in small writing on the sleeve; he was suddenly six foot three and taller than Techno; his cerulean blue eyes avidly avoided Techno's in the corridor and he no longer came into Techno's room when nightmares struck him and thunderstorms scared him to the kitchen. (Instead, Techno was overhearing Tommy in their living room late at night, his phone up against his ear as he whispered joking insults to the man on the other end of the phone, their team group call having ended hours ago and yet here he was) (Suddenly, late night hot chocolates together were like a memory and some distant part of him said _it was his own fault_ but he shoved that far down and instead blamed the child he had thought he knew) 

It was out of that same jealousy that rose in him everytime he saw Dream with his arm leaning on Tommy's shoulder, Dream with his hand ruffling Tommy's hair, _Dream Dream Dream_ , that had him making a mistake he'd regret forever. Out of spite that rose in him like a poison he watched as Tommy returned home from soccer matches, dejected and sad every time there were no congratulations waiting for him. Techno watched because ( _did he really need that praise, he was so loud anyway, always bragging and making jokes)_ he was jealous. 

Techno didn't think that Tommy would find that praise so easily in the presence of his teammates, their bandwagon lead by Dream himself. Techno just watched as his relationship with his brother burned, and as he still was scalded from the heat regardless. 

Tommy's yelling while on the phone to his other closest friend had triggered the part of him that struggled with loud noises and shouting, so he had pulled on his headphones and curled up at the foot of his bed, comforted by the silence the noise cancelling headphones provided. He had felt the vibrations of the slam of a door from where he was seated, but he didn't get up, wanting those selfish few seconds to calm his breathing. He pulled the headphones off when everything stopped being too much, when the fabric of his jumper was no longer suffocating and the thought of shouting didn't make him feel ill. 

As soon as he did so, he heard Wilbur yelling at Tommy, the exact words muffled by the distance between them and the walls blocking the noise, instead of intervening he had only listened with his nails digging into his palm. When he heard Wilbur vomiting in the toilet ten minutes later, he left his room and checked on his twin. 

(They didn't always talk, but that was his brother and he needed to check on him, needed to make sure he was okay.)

Wilbur told him with a pale face and guilt in his eyes that Tommy had ran away and Techno was suddenly drowning in the guilt he'd shoved far down within him. Wilbur's breath was shaky when he repeated what he'd said to the younger boy and Techno felt like he was about to be sick, stomach roiling with sadness and overwhelming blame filling his heart. 

"Fuck." Techno knew as soon as Wilbur specified what he said to their brother where the youngest had run off too. Techno just wasn't sure how well it would go if he showed up at Dream's house in the dead of night looking for his younger brother and Tommy wasn't there. 

(Techno wasn't sure about many things, but he could control this, he could make sure Tommy was safe and okay. He had to focus on something other than the soul crushing guilt within him before he retreated into the dark corners of his mind that preyed on his weakness.) 

"If he's not back before tomorrow morning, we'll go looking for him." Techno didn't want to wait but he knew it would go well if he brought a distraught Wilbur out onto the cold streets to find his younger brother who would undoubtedly be with his replacement for their family. ( _Dream, Dream, Dream_.) Phil would be home the next day from his trip to invest in more stock for his shop. He would know what to do, his father always seemed to know.

Wilbur blinked through the tears in his eyes, shaky hands entwining with Techno's as he stood, "Promise Techie?" 

"Of course, Will." The promise was about more than them simply searching for Tommy, it was a promise that they would fix it. Their family had been breaking apart for far too long and Techno was officially going to try and fix it. 

( _That night was the first one in months where they slept in the same bed, Techno curled up at the foot of Wilbur's covers, hand reaching up to hold the outstretched palm of his twin.)_

* * *

Tommy didn't expect to wake up on Dream's sofa, shoulders curled in around the hand slung around his neck. Dream's fingers rested against his collarbone, the warmth of his touch comforting in Tommy's drowsy state. Tommy was wearing Dream's hoodie, the green fabric had been thrown at him when Tommy started shivering halfway into their movie marathon. Dream had ran his hand through Tommy's hair to send him to sleep, making jokes about Tommy was like a cat, Tommy's joking threats in response met by gentle laughter. ("Toms, you're literally a pussy." "I'll kill you bitch, I swear.") Dream didn't leave, not at any point during the night, as made clear by his presence at Tommy's side on the sofa. 

(Tommy hadn't woken up alongside his brothers like this in a long time and his heart ached for the comfort of Wilbur's hugs and Techno's gentle hand holding.) (Tommy missed his brothers so much, he missed the times when there wasn't a distance between them that felt like a solid wall.)

"Wake up bitch." Tommy's hissing was met by a jolt from Dream as he awoke and lazy blinking towards the younger boy. Dream pulled his hand away to rub at his eyes and Tommy felt a pang at the loss of contact. 

Dream seemed to notice his frown because he sent a weak kick at Tommy, leg bouncing harmlessly off Tommy's side, "Stop with the puppy dog eyes or I won't make breakfast."

"Alright, let's not get irrational here Big Man-" Tommy sat up properly as he spoke, stretching out his limbs from where they had been curled up beneath him. He might have gained a slight ache in his shoulders, but his sleep the night before had been the best in a while. He didn't immediately reach for his phone, knowing the screen would be filled with panicked messages from Tubbo and maybe a text or two from Phil saying good morning or something of the sort. (He knew there wouldn't be a single apologetic message from Wilbur, his brother had meant every word he said.)

"What do you want to eat?" Dream's voice sounded a few moments later, the rustling of him standing distracting Tommy from sending a death glare at his phone screen. 

"Anything suits me, just make sure there's a lot of it."

"Pancakes and bacon it is." Dream walked into the kitchen and left Tommy sitting on the sofa alone. With a sigh, Tommy opened his phone, clicking through his tabs to open his messages with his best friend. As expected, his phone had been flooded with messages overnight and now that the sting of tears was no longer blurring his eyesight, he typed out a legible response.

 **Tommy** : i'm fine tubso dont worry

 **Tommy** : im with big d

The reply was instantaneous, the read receipt appearing immediately, Tubbo taking a few seconds longer to reply due to his dyslexia. 

**Tubbo** : ok im hlad your ok

 **Tubbo** : ill get eret to fite wil for u

Tommy laughed at the threat, knowing that Eret wouldn't raise a hand against Wilbur. He wouldn't either. He knew exactly why Wilbur had snapped, knew that anger issues weren't just a joke and that his brother had to take medication for his explosive rage. Tommy just happened to be the one to trigger it, resulting in Wilbur yelling at him. The condition didn't make any of what Wilbur said any less true though, which didn't reassure Tommy much in the long run. 

**Tommy** : thanks big man

 **Tommy** : ill call you later

A knock on the door startled Tommy from his texting, but the reassuring grin on Dream's face when he stuck his head out the kitchen door calmed him. 

"It's probably Sapnap, he usually calls over around this time to force me to cook for him." Tommy just nodded in affirmation and Dream ducked back into the kitchen, leaving Tommy to open the door himself. He swung open the wooden door, a half-smile on his face, ready to curse out Sapnap and maybe shut the door in his face a few times. 

Instead, he was greeted by Wilbur, tear stained cheeks and red rimmed eyes stealing Tommy's attention momentarily before he was distracted by the more shocking thing. 

_Techno was right there._

Tommy's brother, notorious for not giving two shits about anyone was standing in Dream's doorstep, holding Wilbur's hand so tightly his skin paled around the contact. Techno, the elusive _absolute psycho_ was standing with shaking palms, looking as if for the first time in his life, he cared. 

(Out of all the sights he could have been greeted with, the image both his brothers standing close together was the last thing he expected.) (He supposed that was why he did what he did next.)

The sound of the front door slamming sent Dream jogging through the kitchen doorway, undisguised worry in his eyes. He didn't even ask who it was, the state Tommy was in telling him who had shown up at his front door. 

(Tommy could scarcely breathe, panicking over Wilbur yelling at him again and Techno being unbearably disappointed that he had to waste his time and find Tommy.)

"Hey, hey, Toms, it's okay. You can go sit in the kitchen and keep and eye on the bacon for me, okay?" 

Tommy only nodded at Dream's words, letting his nails dig into his palm as he stumbled into the kitchen, trying to distract himself from the memories of Wilbur yelling at him. He heard the telltale click of Dream opening the front door again and sunk down to sit on the floor in the in the kitchen, close enough to the open doorway that he could hear their conversation. 

He didn't know if he wanted to hear it, didn't know if he was ready to hear the utter lack of care in his brothers voices, but he steeled himself anyway because it didn't matter what would happen, he wouldn't let it affect him like Wilbur's words had the night before. He was with Dream now and he was going to figure everything out, no matter what. He would fix this, he would figure out in his mind what the fuck was going on and he would move on from the bullshit that was filling his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay but i'm sitting on the floor of my kitchen and the tiles are really cold but it's the only place the internet is working i hate it here
> 
> now for actual chapter notes, um this was actually a lot longer but then i wanted to keep this chapter angsty as all hell and save the comfort or whatever for later
> 
> on another note,, if there's anything you think would be cool for me to write, like specific au's or even what you want to see in the final chapter of this fic, i love ideas and it would be a huge help. thank you all so much for the support!
> 
> (and one last thing, i do try my best to catch any mistakes but if you see one i've missed, any comments would be appreciated. tysm <333)

**Author's Note:**

> I AM WEAK FOR HURT COMFORT AND ALSO SAD TOMMY SO HERE WE ARE! THIS FIC IS FOR EMBELOM WHO IS LITERALLY SO KIND I MIGHT CRY (I CAN HARDLY FIGURE OUT HOW TO DEDICATE THINGS PROPERLY BUT THIS ONES FOR YOU BUB)
> 
> this work will hopefully be three chapters long but i will one hundred percent be writing more in this au because hell yes to family angst and inferiority complexes


End file.
